Typhoon Kalmaegi (2008) - Meteorological History

Meteorological History

Early on July 13, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), began to issue full advisories on a tropical depression, which was located to the east of the Philippines. Later that day PAGASA allocated the name Helen to the depression, followed the next day by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) designating the number 08W. Early on July 15, both the JTWC, and the JMA upgraded the depression to tropical storm status, with RSMC Tokyo assigning the name "Kalmaegi" to the storm, which was submitted by North Korea and is Korean for seagull. Early on the 17th, Kalmaegi began rapidly intensifying; JMA was the first agency to upgrade it into a typhoon. JTWC followed a few hours later. Finally, PAGASA upgraded Kalmaegi (Helen) into a typhoon on later that day.

Typhoon Kalmaegi, which was downgraded to tropical storm status by Taiwan's Central Weather Bureau while still east of the country, made landfall at Ilan County in northeast Taiwan in the evening of July 17 at 19:40 local time (13:40 UTC) and emerged into the Taiwan Strait at 7:20 in the morning local time (01:20 UTC) on July 18. From Taiwan, the typhoon, now downgraded to a tropical storm, turned toward southeast China. In Xiapu County of Fujian Province, the tropical storm made landfall at 17:50 local time (0950 UTC), with winds of about 90 miles per hour. Early on July 19, the JTWC issued its final advisory on Kalmaegi and downgraded it to a tropical depression. However, the JMA continued to issue advisories and maintained Kalmaegi as a tropical storm as it moved to the Yellow Sea. Late the next day, the JMA downgraded Kalmaegi to a low (extratropical cyclone) as it moved inland over North Korea.